Selfish And Senseless
by ThePanther'sNewGrove
Summary: Night Panther, revived by Romeo, was meant for one purpose - world domination. But when an unexpected near-death experience conflicts his feelings about being evil, he turns to the one person who he thinks he has a real chance of being friends with. But will this decision determine the end of the PJ Masks?
1. You Will Call Me Night Panther

**Hello readers! Let me start off by saying that I'm new to this, but also a very good writer. Also, this story was inspired by many sources, including shows like PJ Masks (obviously), Skylanders Academy, Descendants, and many other books or fanfictions. The book cover belongs to Dapple-ishh (whom, in my opinion, is the best PJ Masks fanartist ever to exist.) I think that's all i have to say for now, so happy reading!**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

He was slinking through the thick limbs of the tree, paw-like feet splayed for balance. There wasn't a sound in the forest; his movements weren't even audible to a dog's ear. But he kept moving, claws extended, focused on his task. He leapt down from the branch he was on and landed soundly, without breaking a twig, without crunching a leaf. He was still going; it would have only sounded like a breeze scampering through the bushes. He started moving faster, and still, no sound came from the dirty ground, as if he were merely a shadow moving through the dense foliage.

"You're not being sneaky enough," a voice said from behind him. He startled, and the trees and bushes disappeared, the forest floor becoming cold metal underneath his feet.

"Zip it, Romeo," he snarled. He stood up on his hind legs, his red eyes glowering with embarrassment.

Romeo chuckled in that annoyingly high-pitched voice of his. "Don't be stupid, Nite. I'll zip up when I want to. Otherwise, I can't correct you when you're wrong." He tousled Nite's black-and-white striped fur with a gloved hand. Nite hissed and shrank back.

"Well, that was a little rude," Romeo placed his hands on his hips. "You know, you promised you'd work for me, and that you wouldn't cause any trouble. But it seems to me that you're being-"

"I never said that I'd work for you," Nite snapped. " I said I'd help you for my benefit. Don't treat me like I'm some servile bad guy helping to take over the world."

"Which is precisely what you're doing," Romeo replied. Nite's pointed ears flattened on his head in disgust. Romeo was always trying to order him around, as if he thought Nite couldn't do a thing to him. If only he knew-

"Anyway, I think you should take a break. We've been practicing this for, what, like an hour? Go and relax, kitty." he said as Nite slunk away down the hall. _What a stupid boy. _he thought. _What a careless, stuck-up, stupid-_

"Are you alright?"

Nite whipped around, ready to attack the speaker, only to find himself face-to-face with a hulking, round metal creature. Nite sighed. The robot had been neglected by Romeo ever since he'd revived Nite from his coma-like state. Now, it wandered the halls, looking for something to do. The only thing humorous about it was that Romeo had simply called it Robot(as if he had nothing better to do or that he was so distracted in his work that he hadn't bothered to give his creation a proper name).

Now, Nite turned and began walking again, the monstrosity not far behind.

"Was Master yelling at you again?" Robot didn't wait for a response. "It's okay. You'll get used to it. He was always yelling at me." Nite rolled his eyes.

"I don't need to hear your whole backstory, pal," he said, not turning around. He could still hear the loud thumps of large metallic feet on the hard floor.

"I'll bet anything he's setting himself up for another failure. Again." They both knew that Romeo had spent every single night painstakingly crafting inventions in order to get rid of the trio of superheroes- Nite cringed just thinking about the word- but out of all the times he tried to succeed, there were zero times that he actually did. Nite thought it was foolish to be so persistent after failing so many times, and yet when he tried to talk to Romeo about it, he just wouldn't listen.

"I really don't get why he wants to destroy them - at night of all times." Robot sighed.

"You don't have to worry about it. You're not the one who has to be up all night, practicing being sneaky. Ugh, why does it seem like I'm the only one here who isn't so ignorant." Nite heard Robot stop walking. He turned around again.

"I don't believe that," Robot said sharply. "Everyone has a little bit of ignorance in their personality. Even you do, Nite."

Nite stared for a few seconds before his shock morphed into rage. Quicker than anything Robot had seen, he zipped over to it and delivered a strong, sharp kick to the gut. It hit the floor with a deafening clang. Nite growled in his throat as Robot looked at him in surprise. It was at least three feet taller than him, and yet Nite had shown off more strength than any human ever could.

"I am not ignorant!" Nite shouted. The robot's head winced at the loud volume. Nite lowered his voice and took a deep breath to compose himself. He spoke again, threateningly.

"You will call me Night Panther," he said quietly. "Is that understood?" Robot quickly got to its feet and nodded.

"Yes. Yes, of course Night Panther, sir." Nite, looking satisfied, turned around and began walking again. He could still hear Robot's steps behind him, but now the clangs were more hesitant.

* * *

**Cool, right. When I saw the episode "Gekko And The Opposite ray", I decided to take Night Panther's personality to a whole new level, which you can ****probably tell due to the fact that he seemingly doesn't appreciate Romeo as much as he used too. And don't worry, the chapters will be longer in the future. You'll find out later how Nite exactly returned, and yes, the PJ Masks will be coming as well, next chapter, probably. Until then, enjoy yourselves, and see you all soon! **


	2. Normal Night of Crime-Fighting

**Alright, back with another chapter! As promised, this one is longer. And its going to have a fight scene. I'm not exactly sure how good I am at those, but I guess you'll have to comment on it in order to find out! Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"Gekko, behind you!" a voice called. His instincts instantly kicked in, and he could clearly hear the pounding feet of the droid behind his back. With one swift leap, the green lizard-themed superhero backflipped over the robot and landed behind it. Before it could turn around, he delivered a round-house kick into its side, causing it to go flying into the wall with a sharp crack.

"Thanks, Owlette," he called to the red owl-themed superhero soaring above. She winked before swooping down down to tackle another droid onto the ground. Now there were only two robots left, the other four scattered around the large baseroom, lifeless and shooting sparks through holes in their metal casings.

Gekko was about to charge at one of them before a flash of blue flew by him. The streak began to circle the two droids, going faster and faster until it stopped suddenly, and the robots seized up, blue sparks flying everywhere. The droids fell to the ground, electrocuted. Gekko couldn't help but smirk as Owlette walked up next to him.

"You know this is just training, right, Catboy? You barely left any droids for us to take on." The blue striped cat smiled guiltily as Gekko chuckled beside Owlette.

"I might've gotten a little too caught up in the fighting, but I'd never be able to take care of them without your help." he said as Owlette smiled approvingly.

"All of this training seems kinda worthless though, since we haven't seen any villains for a week now," Gekko said, which caught the attention of the other two. He was right. They'd been been patrolling the city every night, but it did seem suspicious that none of the villains they'd faced were showing up at night like they always did.

"They've probably teamed up again," Catboy said sternly. " Maybe their plan is to wait us out. Once we stop looking, that's when they'll attack, and we won't be prepared to stop them." Owlette nodded in agreement.

Gekko nodded reluctantly and yawned. It was clear that all the rounds with the simulation droids had tired him out. As they all promised to come back the next night to practice again, the HQ alarm went off.

"Finally!" Gekko exclaimed, which caused Catboy and Owlette to cast confused looks at him. It was rare for any of them to actually want to face an unexpected villain.

"PJ Robot, could you check that out?" Owlette called. The small robot with bright blue eyes who'd been managing the simulation quickly hovered over to the Picture Player, which levitated in the center of the large room. He quickly pulled up a map of the city and zoomed in on a small, blinking red dot that represented a villain. When the picture focused, they saw a boy clad in dark blue along with several smaller, purple boys.

"Night Ninja!" Catboy exclaimed. "He's headed for the museum. Quick, to the CatCar!" He pressed the button to open the door to the blue vehicle. They quickly hopped in, buckled up, and took off through the exit, ready for another night of fighting crime.

* * *

Night Ninja stood outside the museum entrance, his Ninjalinos huddled around him. He needed those pesky PJ Masks in order to complete his plan. But where were they?

_Three...Two...One…._

A screeching sound came from his right, and the CatCar zoomed around the corner, stopping in front of the stairs leading up to the doors. The glass top opened, and the trio leapt out, all in defensive poses.

"I was wondering when you'd show up." he said. The Ninjalinos all fell into fighting stances as well.

"Whatcha stealing now? Same thing as last time?" Gekko smiled and crossed his arms. Night Ninja only smirked back under his dark blue mask. This was going to be _too_ easy.

Actually, Lizard Legs, I've decided not to steal anything this time. I'm gonna blow this place up! Nothing in there is worth stealing anyway. You always keep foiling my carefully crafted-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Catboy interrupted. "We've heard it all before. But we still won't let you do that!" With that, the PJ Masks charged at Night Ninja.

"Suit yourself," he sniffed. "Ninjalinos, attack!" They took off too, cartwheeling at the three, but they didn't get very far.

"Super Cat Stripes!" Catboy shouted, and instantly a lightning-shaped neon-blue stripe extended from his now-glowing hand. It wrapped around almost half of the Ninjalinos. Catboy pulled to tighten it, leaving them tied together on the ground. The remaining Ninjalinos turned on Gekko and Owlette. But they were ready too.

"Super Gekko Camouflage!" Gekko yelled, turning completely invisible. The Ninjalinos headed toward him halted and looked around in confusion. This was his favorite part. He snuck up behind them and gave them a running shove right into the ones Catboy had tied up. Now the last of the Ninjalinos ran at Owlette. But before they could reach her, she took off into the air.

"Owl WhirlWind!" A huge gust of wind knocked the Ninjalinos off their feet, slamming them into the pile of Ninjalinos that now grew even larger. Night Ninja growled.

"You still can't stop this place from going sky high, PJ Pests!" And he took out a remote control. But instead of pressing it there, he turned and ran into the museum.

"Follow him!" Catboy yelled to Owlette and the now-visible Gekko. They all quickly ran through the doors into the museum.

* * *

They'd been running for several minutes, and there was still no sign of Night Ninja. Catboy, being a speedster, naturally didn't tire, and Owlette mostly flew, but poor Gekko was wheezing like he'd just inhaled a cloud of volcanic ash.

"What...I...wouldn't...give...for...super...speed…." he gasped. Catboy noticed, and slowly halted. Owlette landed, but she kept her eyes fixed on the halls.

"He could be anywhere right now. Cat Ears!" Instantly, every sound within a mile was audible to him. He could hear faint footsteps and a soft cackle, followed by a sharp click.

_Shoot! _he thought. _He's pressed it._

That's when it hit him. Night Ninja wasn't trying to get away from them before blowing up the museum, he was trying to blow _them_ along with it.

"Catboy, what's...what's wrong?" asked Gekko, who was still a little breathless. Catboy turned to him, looking panicked.

"We need to deactivate that bomb!" he said frantically. Luckily, his Cat Ears were picking up on a beeping noise that sounded much closer than the other sounds.

"I think it's this way," he called, before activating his Super Cat Speed, making his dark blue stripes glow like neon lights. He zipped down the hall he'd pointed out, Owlette not far behind. Gekko groaned and mumbled, "_More _running?" before following as well.

The beeping got louder and louder until they spotted a tiny gray sphere latched to the wall.

"I still don't get why they make them so small these days," Gekko sighed, staring at the blinking red contraption.

"They don't need to be big in order to pack a lot of power," Owlette replied. She deftly plucked the ball off the wall and crushed it in her hand.

"C'mon," Catboy said turning around. "Let's go tell Night Ninja the good news." They all giggled before running down the hall and out toward the main lobby.

* * *

**Alright. Now that we know what the PJ Masks are up to, it's time to head back to Nite. But don't worry, this is when it really starts to get interesting...**

**Coming soon: Chapter 3 - A Panther's Prowl**

**Enjoy yourselves, and see you soon!**


	3. A Panther's Prowl

**Author's Note: I decided to change the time a little in order to fit to the story more. The events of the first chapter happened a night before the events of the second chapter. The events of this chapter are happening around the same time as the second one. I hope that doesn't sound too confusing, but I'm sure you'll understand once you read it. Enjoy! **

* * *

**Chapter 3**

It's common knowledge to everyone that panthers tend to be up and prowling during the night and sleeping during the day, basking in tall trees for protection and privacy. And this is exactly what Nite was doing, curled up in a ball just like a real cat, when a sudden, horribly loud pounding ensued on his door. He awoke with a start, then glanced groggily at the clock on his wall.

9:00 P.M. Same as always. He sighed.

The pounding got even louder. "Come on, Nite, open up! It's important." Romeo's voice called from outside. Nite reluctantly got up, stomped over to the door, and slammed it open.

"Whaddaya want?" Nite growled, his words slurred from sleep. Romeo made a face, but didn't reply, he was too busy flipping through his notes at a surprisingly fast rate. Finally, he got to the page he wanted, and looked up at Nite, who was standing there questioningly.

"I have good news, Nite," he began, looking rather giddy. Nite rolled his eyes. Romeo never had any good news to tell him, other than long speeches about how he was so annoying at times.

"I'm finally sending you on a mission!" Romeo extended his arms in a flourish.

Nite was genuinely surprised. Okay, he was shocked. This was the first time Romeo had said this to him, and the corners of his mouth quirked up slightly in a tiny smile.

"Well, that's...uh...something I didn't expect," he said. "So what's my job?" In response, Romeo flipped his notebook around to show a crudely drawn case with something circled heavily with pencil on the inside.

"I want you to go to the museum, and bring me back a piece of this Charged Imber. That way, I can use it to power my invention, and, of course, take over the world!" Romeo added a maniacal laugh for good measure while Nite slumped in annoyance. He was only stealing something? How disappointing. But, then again, he _would_ be able to leave the lab for once, and he would be able to test out his new powers….

"Alright, fine. I'll take what I can get," Nite said. Romeo smiled.

"Bare in mind that there might be booby traps. So you'll have to be very sneaky in order to avoid them. But I'm sure you're good at that by now, right?" Romeo chuckled as Nite rolled his eyes again. Without another word, he teleported himself directly to the back door of the museum.

* * *

It didn't take long to find and smash the glass protecting the Imber, and stealing it was even easier. But before he could leave, the faint sound of voices caused his pointed panther ears to perk up. He snuck down the hall and over to the main lobby of the museum, but he saw made him shudder.

It was _them_. The PJ Masks, standing in the middle of the lobby, apparently confronting Night Ninja. Nite quickly backed up behind the wall. This wasn't good. At least they were already busy with another villain. He could get out of there by teleporting, but something intrigued him enough to stay and watch the battle.

"We took care of your silly bomb, Night Ninja," Catboy said smugly. "So you might as well give up now, or things are gonna get messy." Night Ninja didn't seem threatened. In fact, he looked rather smug himself.

"So you think," he replied. "But that was only a decoy. I've placed multiple bombs everywhere. And I wouldn't try to leave. Stick around - literally! Ninjalinos, splat attack!" Instantly, his Ninjalinos bombarded the heroes with orange-colored slime. Their legs were now cemented to the floor, unable to break free.

"You were right, Catboy. Things _are_ gonna get messy. Enjoy the show!" With that, he pressed the button on his remote and took off, his Ninjalinos not far behind.

Now Nite was feeling wave after wave of uncertainty. On one hand, the blast would take care of those PJ Pests. On the other hand, it meant _he_ would go down along with them. He had to destroy those bombs.

There wasn't enough time to go around looking for them, so he gathered his powers together, his white stripes beginning to glow a light purple. He then created an electric field around himself, drawing in more and more energy until-

"NIGHT PANTHER SHOCKWAVE!" Nite shouted, and three purple shockwaves went careening out from his body to all the surrounding area. He sensed all the bombs disintegrating into dust, as well as the slime coating Catboy, Gekko, and Owlette's feet. Then as quickly as it started, the shockwaves stopped rippling out and disappeared.

"What just happened?" he heard Gekko ask. Okay, it was definitely time to go. Nite activated his Night Panther Speed and took off down the hall.

* * *

"Night Ninja's such a coward," Owlette sighed as they headed out of the museum toward the Cat Car. Catboy and Gekko both nodded in agreement.

"Do you guys know what caused that weird shockwave thing that freed us?" Gekko asked. Owlette shrugged, but Catboy put a hand on his chin, thinking hard.

"I could've sworn I heard someone shout something, but it was hard to make out exactly what it was." he said. Gekko and Owlette looked at each other, but didn't answer.

"Look on the bright side guys. Night Ninja's gone. I have a feeling we're done for the night." Gekko still didn't look to sure, but Catboy clapped him on the back.

"PJ Masks, all shout hooray!" Owlette and Gekko joined in. "Cuz in the night, we saved the day!"

The trio hopped back into the CatCar, feeling victorious. But as they sped off, Gekko swore he saw a flash of purple ripple through the museum windows.

* * *

As Nite headed toward the exit, he felt a pit opening in his stomach. Romeo probably wouldn't be too happy to find out that he'd basically saved the PJ Masks. Why had he even done that? It was unsettling. But what made him feel even more nervous was that he was sure that Gekko had seen him swooping down the hall, a look of intense suspicion on his face. And the more he thought about it, the worse he felt. Maybe this was why he didn't notice or hear a small, gray sphere with a blinking red light on the floor begin to expand.

The blast that followed caused Nite to go soaring through the ceiling, his arms flailing about. As he descended, he looked down. The explosion had torn a large hole in the walls, floor, and roof, but Nite was pretty sure nothing valuable had been in range of it.

He landed soundly on his feet and quietly snuck over to the lip of the roof, but when he did, he spotted Night Ninja, looking at the museum in confusion. He quickly activated his speed and high-tailed it (pun intended), but as he did, for the briefest of seconds, Night Ninja looked up at him, his ocean-colored eyes meeting Nite's crimson ones. It felt like an eternity, but all of the sudden Nite found himself back in Romeo's lab.

_Must've teleported without thinking_. he thought.

"How'd it go, Nite?" Romeo's voice jarred him from his thoughts. In response, Nite only shrugged as he held up the chunk of Imber he'd stolen. Romeo took it gingerly.

"It went pretty fast, actually. Almost got blown to bits, but nothing major happened." he replied, sounding amazingly calm after what had happened. Romeo didn't answer as he walked over to his contraption.

"I know about that part," he said simply. "I have access to the museum security cameras. I just wanted to check on you to see if you had actually done as I'd told you." He placed the Imber on top of his work table before turning to glare at Nite.

"And yes, I did see what you did with the PJ Masks." he turned around again as Nite groaned.

"I was trying to save myself," he protested. Romeo only scoffed back.

"Oh, please! If you'd teleported, none of that would've happened. Well, apart from the fact that those PJ Pests would've been destroyed, which I would _encourage_ to happen," he sighed. "Sometimes, Nite, I think you're a bit too soft to be a villain." With that, he grabbed the Charged Imber and other necessary tools before getting to work.

That last part hit him hard. He wasn't soft, that wasn't the reason. But something deep inside him felt like agreeing with Romeo. But why would he? Well, he was, after all, Catboy's evil counterpart. Maybe something had happened when Romeo revived him. He didn't know, and at that moment, he didn't care.

Wanting to be alone, Nite teleported himself outside the lab, where he could see the dark, sleeping city below. It felt kind of awkward to have a lab built on a floating island that was only visible at night, but he wasn't one to complain.

Mystery Mountain was peaceful and quiet most of the time. During the nights when he'd first been awakened, Nite had liked to sit at the edge of the island where the lab was built, alone with his thoughts. Now he was doing the same thing. He kept thinking about what Romeo had said, and about the fact that Gekko might've seen him.

Then a vivid memory hit him. He was on a rooftop, Gekko standing above him on a higher outcrop. He didn't remember much conversation, but he did recall Gekko telling him that they were friends.

"Friends?!" Nite had scoffed. "Hah! More like super enemies!"

"Nope. Just the opposite." Gekko had replied. "We're super friends."

What Nite found most disturbing about this memory was that for a second he'd actually believed Gekko. It was sickening just to think about.

"Everything alright, Night Panther?" he jumped at the sound of Robot's mechanical voice. He glanced at it.

"Yeah, I'm just hoping what Romeo said about me isn't true." Nite answered. Robot tilted its head to the side.

"What did he say?" it asked. Nite ignored him and continued to stare at the starry night sky.

"Come on, Master won't be happy to see you out here. It's almost dawn anyway." Nite reluctantly got up and began to follow Robot back inside. Before he walked in though, he turned to look at the city one last time. It was still dark, but the moon shone like a spotlight on it. He felt a pang in his gut, like longing. But for what, he couldn't quite say.

* * *

**Alright, it looks like Nite is finally started to wonder who's friend and who's foe. Also, if you're confused, Nite doesn't really remember Dark Owl anymore, probably because of Romeo.**

**I've already started making the fourth chapter, but it won't be out very soon like this one. Still, I hope you've liked the story so far. Enjoy yourselves and see you soon!**


	4. A Different World

**Whew! New chapter, finally! I'm thinking about posting one more chapter before moving to a different story. I'll still work on it, but not as much. And strangely enough, the new story I'm doing is based in the Miraculous Ladybug fandom. I know I said in my profile that I would only write PJ Masks fanfics, but that changed a bit. Well, enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

When the CatCar finally came to stop, and the PJ Masks jumped out, they were surprised to PJ Robot rushing over to them with a terrified expression on his face.

"What's the matter, PJ Robot?" Catboy asked. The little robot lead them over to the Picture Player and messed with a few buttons before pulling up a live feed of the museum. There was a large, smoking crater off to the left side.

"Gasping Gekkos! When did that happen?" Gekko cried. PJ Robot rewound the footage to show the explosion going off seconds after they'd turned the corner in the car.

"But...we would've heard it!" Owlette said in shock. "There's no way an explosion could be that quiet." PJ Robot shrugged as he sadly looked at Catboy. The PJ Masks leader was staring off into space. This wasn't right. The PJ Masks were supposed to save the day in the night, but this time they'd only made it worse.

"For now, there really isn't any explanation, Owlette." he said, turning to her. Owlette hung her head, looking defeated, but Gekko only looked curious. He thought about the almost simultaneous events of the shockwaves, the purple flash he'd seen, and the minor-but-still-bad explosion.

"Maybe Night Ninja just wants to destroy the museum one night at a time," he theorized. "He probably just didn't-"

"There's nothing we can do about it now, Gekko," Catboy snapped. The lizard winced and looked at him with hurt eyes. Catboy said nothing as he turned away sharply from Gekko. PJ Robot hovered over to him and placed a metal hand on his shoulder as they left the room, leaving Owlette to tentatively follow behind. She glanced once more at Gekko before she left as well.

Gekko, now alone, quietly walked over to the edge of the baseroom and sat down, he back against the wall. Catboy had never spoken to him like that before. It made him feel useless and unhelpful. But, he knew, even though they thought it was too late, there was still time to fix this problem. _Somehow…._

* * *

Nite heard his door open loudly and whipped around. Romeo was there, looking annoyed.

"I thought you'd be asleep by now. But _apparently_ I was wrong." he yawned and rubbed his eyes. Being a nighttime villain, he should've been used to being up all night, but even _he _needed sleep at some point.

"Sorry, I'm just not tired, I guess." Nite answered. Romeo rolled his eyes and shut the door with a bang. Nite layed back down on the floor and tried to sleep, but it wouldn't come. He knew he shouldn't dwell on that terrible memory, but every time he closed his eyes, all he saw was Gekko's smiling face. Eventually he did fall asleep, but was woken up from a bit of a nightmare.

In it, he'd been sitting alone in darkness, with nothing in sight for miles. Or so he had thought. He felt sad for some reason, and lonely. But Gekko had come out of nowhere with a hand extended towards him, smiling creepily.

"Don't be scared, you still have me," he had said. "Let's be friends. _SUPER FRIENDS ..._" that last part then began echoing, growing louder and louder until it seemed like he was in a confined space.

Nite jolted awake with a yelp, and it took him a moment to realize he was sweating; his fur was sticky with it. After fixing his coat to its normal glossy state, he curled up again, trying not to think about anything. By doing this, he found, he fell asleep easier and without any nightmares.

When he woke up the next night, he found he'd overslept. But he knew why.

_Silly Romeo._ Nite thought to himself. _He's concentrating more on his inventions than on me, the _actual_ reason why his plan will work. _

Then he thought for a moment. If Romeo wasn't concerned about him, why did he bring Nite back in the first place? Did he just want company? Or was Nite doomed to scavenging parts for Romeo's inventions ever time he failed?

He didn't realize his stripes were crackling with purple electricity until he noticed his fists were tightened with rage. He unclenched them, but his anger didn't go away. He wasn't meant to be left useless; his new powers were being wasted because of Romeo.

Nite stood up. Glanced at the skylight on his ceiling. So what if Romeo didn't care about him? He wouldn't need to, if Nite was no longer there. He would leave, find a better place on Mystery Mountain to live, and Romeo would have a useless burden off his shoulders. He would have to deal with the PJ Masks without Nite, no casualties, no worries, no friends-.

Friends.

The word made Nite lose his train of thought. Romeo was the closest thing to a friend he'd had. So who would be his new "friend"? Well, it couldn't possibly be….

He groaned. "Oh, alright. Just as long as he actually needs me in his life." It felt weird speaking to himself, but that was all he had at this point.

Using his telekinesis, he unlocked the skylight latch and opened it. He then silently said goodbye to the room, before turning to the skylight again.

"Panther Pounce." he said softly, and jumped impressively high into the air. He soared right through the skylight, making sure to land softly on the roof as to not draw attention. Then, without making a sound, he leapt off the roof and headed for the portal that led to the city.

* * *

"_Why won't you listen to me? Didn't you want me to stay with you forever? Didn't you say that we were friends? SUPER FRIENDS?!"_

Greg sat up in bed, gasping. He hadn't expected to get a good night's rest after all that had happened, but he hadn't expected to have a _nightmare_ because of it.

"Lizards," he cursed softly. An annoyed squeak came from the opposite end of his bedroom. "Sorry, Lionel." The small lizard glared at him through its glass habitat walls before curling up again on the branch it was sleeping on.

Greg groaned and put his head in his hands. He didn't even know what he'd been dreaming about. He hadn't been able to see anything; all he'd heard was that strangely familiar voice. It was creepy. Greg glanced at the clock on his bedside table.

4:34 A.M.

And it was a school night. Greg sighed and snuggled back under the covers.

* * *

"You guys are not gonna believe this," Greg told his friends later that day. He'd noticed that they were acting as if nothing had happened the night before. He knew he had to talk about _something_.

"What's up?" Conner asked. Greg noticed he looked wariy, as if he might lash out at him again if he said anything about the night before.

"Well, um, did you guys have any weird dreams last night?" Greg asked, immediately realizing that he sounded foolish. But Conner and Amaya only gave him concerned looks.

"We'll head back tonight," Amaya said. "Besides, there's too much of a risk. If more night villains come out, we need to be ready." Conner nodded and placed a hand on Greg's shoulder.

"Don' t worry about the dream, Greg." he said. "I was thinking about what happened all night too, so it might've been something to do with that."

"That's not what I dreamed about," Greg said nervously. Conner and Amaya looked at each other.

"It was dark; I couldn't even see my hands," Greg started trembling again at the thought. "And...there was this voice, and it said something about me being friends with it." By now, Conner and Amaya were staring in shock.

"Wanna know the creepiest part?" Greg asked. Amaya shook her head, but Conner nodded, looking intrigued and maybe even a little frightened.

"It sounded just like your voice, Conner."

* * *

_Later that night…_

The PJ Masks entered HQ, where PJ Robot greeted them in the main baseroom.

"Alright, we should scan the city for any unusual activity." Catboy said, looking confident that there was. Gekko and Owlette didn't look too sure. PJ Robot pressed the button on the Picture Player to begin the scan. They all watched the screen intently, until a message popped saying that zero crimes were currently being committed.

"Oh well, back to boredom," Owlette sighed. Catboy only looked confused. Surely there must be a villain or two out there, right? He was just about to say something when another message popped up on the screen.

"Looks like the heat-seeking device detected one active life form under HQ." Gekko read out loud. He looked at Catboy and Owlette, but they only shrugged. None of them knew which villain would want to sneak into the underwater cave beneath HQ.

"We should still check it out. And see who's actually down there." Catboy said. Gekko smiled.

"No better time than the present, Catboy. To the Gekko-Mobile!" They quickly ran to the elevators to take them down to the level where the Gekko-Mobile was kept. They hopped in and were soon diving under the foamy waters that surrounded their HQ.

They reached the cave in a matter of seconds. Gekko activated the headlights on the vehicle before easing it into the darkness. The Gekko-Mobile soon emerged in a large cavern that always seemed to have an eerie green glow.

The trio jumped out and looked around. They didn't see any sign of anyone else in the cave besides them.

"Is that thing we picked up on still there, PJ Robot?" Owlette asked through the communicator on the side of her head. PJ Robot, who was back in HQ and watching them on the screen, made an electronic sound and nodded, glancing at the separate screen which showed the cavern and the small red dot they'd been tracking.

Suddenly Catboy's ears perked up. "I heard something," he whispered. "Like talking. Over there." he pointed to a nearby pile of rocks. They snuck over to it and listened. It was definitely talking, but the voice made Gekko shiver for some reason. He gathered up his courage and peeked around the corner, but what he saw made him draw back in fear.

"What's wrong, Gekko?" Owlette asked. Gekko didn't answer; he was staring straight ahead in shock. Catboy had to wave his hand in front of his face a few times before he blinked and glanced at them.

"Gekko, what'd you see?" Catboy asked sternly. Gekko looked at him.

"You guys are _really_ not gonna believe this." he whispered.

* * *

**I know. It's kinda weird having both Nite and Gekko having dreams about each other, but it makes the story sound more dramatic in my opinion. Now you'll have to see how the PJ Masks react to finding Nite in the next chapter. **

**Coming Soon - Chapter 5: Antihero**

**Enjoy yourselves, and see you soon!**


	5. Antihero

**Here you have it, readers! The fifth chapter! Sorry this took so long to get out, but I was busy with a bunch of stuff. But it's here now, that's all that matters to me. Not only that, this is the first chapter I've written that has no spelling or grammer errors whatsoever. It took forever to proofread, but I managed. Anyway, I won't keep you from the story any longer, so enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"Hey, uh, I'm Night Panther, although I have a feeling you already knew that, Gekko. Actually, I don't think Catboy knows who I am. Or Owlette. Let's see, um, oh yeah. I guess you're wondering how I'm here when Catboy is. Uh, Romeo brought me back - now, before you say anything, I...ugh. Jeez, I am so not good at this - um, I've changed. I don't wanna be a villain anymore. And I want to...to - ah, you probably won't believe me when I say this but, I want to join you guys. So, uh, whaddaya say?"

The topmost rock on the pile fell to the ground with a clunk. Nite growled and slapped his fur-covered forehead with frustration.

"That was even worse than the last try," he groaned. "Why is being good so hard?"

"Um, Night Panther-" a voice started to say behind him, but was abruptly cut off when Nite turned and punched the speaker in the chest. Gekko sailed backward a few feet and landed with an "Oof!", the wind knocked out of him. Catboy and Owlette rushed out from behind some rocks to help him back up.

"WHAT THE HECK IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" Catboy screamed at him. Nite shrank back, his ears flattened on his head with fear.

_Oh no, the PJ Masks? _Nite's white eyebrows shot up. _Well, there goes my introductory speech. Argh, curse these stupid reflexes._

"C-Catboy," Gekko stammered, who had somehow managed to get air back into his lungs. "I'm sure he didn't...didn't mean it. Don't yell at him; he looks terrified." Catboy glanced at Gekko, than back at Nite. He wasn't sure who to talk to first. Luckily, Owlette spoke up instead.

"I'm guessing Gekko caught him off guard, right?" she asked. Than she looked at him a bit closer. "And is it just me, or do you look like some variation of Catboy?"

Nite rolled his eyes. "You could say that," he replied. He looked at Gekko. "I'm really sorry, Gekko. I guess all that training with Romeo-"

"Romeo! You're working with Romeo! I knew you looked suspicious!" Catboy shouted as he fell into a fighting stance.

Nite raised his hands in surrender. "Are you kidding me? That kid's too stuck-up about himself for me to work for him. He more focused on making invention after pointless invention! I couldn't stand it, so I figured you guys would be more accepting." Catboy blinked. That _was_ a good reason. Could this strange-look alike be telling the truth? Owlette didn't look convinced, but she didn't look like she didn't believe him either. Before either of them could say anything, Gekko stood up and walked over to Nite. Catboy noticed him and opened his mouth, but Gekko gave a sudden serious stare that made him close it.

"I believe you," Gekko said softly to Nite. "I'd be surprised if anyone could stand Romeo. I think you made a good choice." Nite blinked, then gave Gekko a sly grin.

"Long time no see, Scaly," he snickered. "Thought I'd never hear your voice after that dream-"

"Dream? You had a dream about me?" Gekko asked curiously. Nite looked confused, but nodded.

"It's just that, _I_ had a dream last night too. About you, I think." He remembered what the voice had sounded like. It was for sure Catboy's, but slightly deeper and tinged with menace. Nite looked surprised, but Gekko only shrugged.

"New look?" he asked. Nite looked almost exactly the same as when he'd first seen him. The same pitch black fur with stark white stripes; the only differences were that his eyes were now red, and he had sharp claws on his fingers and feet, which were bigger and paw-shaped.

"New powers." Nite answered, making his stripes glow bright purple. Gekko and Owlette gazed in awe. But Catboy took it as his opportunity to ask the question he'd been holding in.

"Sorry, um, Gekko, how do you know this guy?" he asked. Gekko turned around as Nite rolled his eyes.

"Catboy, this is Night Panther, you know, the villain you became when Romeo zapped you with the Opposite ray?" Catboy squinted at Nite before his eyes widened with realization.

"Right. Now I remember. He looks scarier than I pictured." he replied. Gekko took Nite's hand and led him over to Catboy and Owlette.

"I trust him, guys," Gekko said firmly. "We should give him a chance to-"

"I wouldn't trust him just yet," Catboy cut in. "If Night Panther really is telling the truth, I think he should prove it first."

"Prove it? How, exactly?" Owlette asked. Just then, a beeping sound came from Catboy's communicator. He put a hand to it and listened intently. After a minute, he looked up at them.

"Maybe he could help us stop the villain PJ Robot located?" he suggested. Gekko turned to Nite, looking at him questioningly. Nite glanced at him before looking back at Catboy.

"I'll do anything if it means I'll get new, trustworthy friends." he said. Gekko smiled. Owlette looked at Catboy and nodded.

"Alright, let's go!" Catboy exclaimed, and they all headed back to the Gekko-Mobile. Nite hesitated, and Gekko realized that he didn't have anywhere to sit. He pressed a button on the dashboard, and a fourth seat appeared between Catboy and Owlette.

"Oh, cool!" Nite said happily as he hopped in. "I didn't know they could do this!" The PJ Masks laughed as Gekko turned the vehicle around and drove it into the water.

* * *

"Oh my gosh, check this out!" Nite said excitedly as he ran over to the Picture Player and started pressing random buttons. PJ Robot zipped over and yanked him away before he did any harm. Catboy rolled his eyes and smiled.

"So, you said you spotted the Wolfies were prowling around near HQ?" he asked PJ Robot. He nodded and pulled up the footage of the three tell-tale werewolves, who somewhere in the city close to the park.

"Yep. That's definitely Rip, Howler, and Kevin. They seem more snoopier than usual, though. Maybe they're trying to break into HQ."

"Than let's go stop them! To the Panther Prowler!" Nite exclaimed, pointing in the direction of the Cat Car.

"Um...it's called the Cat Car, pal." Catboy said. Nite glanced back at him, then sighed.

"I think my name for it sounds cooler." he muttered as they ran over to it. Catboy quickly pulled up a seat for Nite, and they buckled in. It zoomed out through the opening. As they left the park, their eyes searched the alleyways and slightest hints of hiding spots.

"Oh, where are they?" Catboy whispered to himself. He was about to circle around and drive back the way they came, when he suddenly slammed on the brake pedal. The other three were jolted forward slightly, and would've gone flying if it weren't for their seatbelts. The Wolfies were standing inches from the Cat Car, their pointed ears twitching. Nite winced.

"Woah, they're hideous." he said. Gekko gave him a dirty look. Catboy opened the glass top and they jumped out in front of the Wolfies, glaring.

The wolves clearly didn't expect to see Nite. they cocked their heads and sniffed. Except for Rip, who sneered at Nite's matted black fur.

"You look hideous." she said simply. Nite's eyes widened, then narrowed.

"Who you calling hideous? We panthers are defined as agile and graceful." he said angrily. Howler smirked.

"Yeah? Well, we wolves are defined are good hunters and runners." he shot back.

"And good howlers!" Kevin added. Rip glared at him.

"Shut up, Kevin. I'm sure he knew that already," she snarled. Then she turned to Catboy. "So where'd you find this alleycat anyway? Didja find him in a box on the street and decide to take him in?" This turned out to be the wrong thing to say, as Nite suddenly pounced at her. Rip simply turned and leapt gracefully out of the way.

"This cat's got anger issues," Howler laughed. "You insult him once, and he's gone full hunter mode."

"Wanna see how it feels to be hunted?" Nite growled, baring his teeth. "Cuz my claws'll tear into you like-"

Catboy rushed in front of him, arms extended. "Night Panther, calm down! Don't let them get to you. They're always like this, it's how they catch you off guard. Let's just see what they're up to."

Nite just stared at him for a minute, before suddenly jumping over Catboy with a roar, and charging at Rip. Catboy zipped after him, but Howler tripped him with his tail, cackling.

Nite slammed into Rip, and the two fell into a vicious brawl, sharp claws slashing at each other. Rip managed to throw him off, and kicked him hard in the stomach. Nite fell back but was able to right himself, landing on all fours. His white stripes glowed a vicious purple color as he spat a ball of violet fire at Rip. She dodged it, but it followed her, hitting the grass and just barley singeing her tail.

"Alright, _now_ I'm angry!" Rip shouted. She sprinted at Nite, who had stood up on his hind legs, panting from exertion. Catboy hopped to his feet and motioned for the other two to close in. Owlette began to take flight, but Howler grabbed her leg and pulled her down. Gekko started to run over to her, but Howler let lose his Supersonic Howl, which threw him straight into Catboy. Kevin leapt at them, claws extended, but Catboy grabbed Gekko and sped out of the way.

Meanwhile, Rip had been thrown to the ground in a stupor, Nite standing above her.

"Thought you wolves were more cunning than me," he smirked at Rip's prone body. "Guess I was wrong." This caught Howler and Kevin's attention. The sight of their friend on the ground infuriated them. Howler let go of Owlette, and she quickly flew over to Catboy and Gekko.

Nite still hadn't noticed them until a piercing howl made him jerk his head in their direction. He was too late though; the Supersonic Howl set him flying. He landed hard on the ground, the wind knocked out of him. Howler and Kevin laughed and came closer.

Nite tried to stand up again, though his legs were still shaky. He fell back down on his hands and knees, gasping a little.

"Looks like the cat's run outta catnip." Howler sniggered as Nite glared at him.

"You should know not to mess with us Wolfies," Kevin said as the two of them got into position. "You're like a mouse toy compared to us."

Nite closed his eyes. _A mouse….He's calling me...weak? No…._He stood up slowly, and his stripes started glowing again. _No...I...am...not...WEAK!_

Nite opened his eyes, his glowing red eyes. Sizzling purple electricity crackled around his body. Howler and Kevin backed up instinctively.

"Um...is he okay?" Owlette whispered. Gekko looked horrified. He'd never Night Panther do _this_ before.

Nite got back on all fours. He glared with immense hatred at the wolves. No one called him weak. _No one._

"NIGHT PANTHER ROAR!" The last word morphed into a blood curdling sound that was so loud, Rip sat up abruptly and stared at him. Howler and Kevin were blasted away by the strong wind as Nite roared, and roared, and roared, and-

"NIGHT PANTHER!" Gekko screamed. The roaring immediately ceased. Nite's stripes faded back to white as he looked at Gekko, who had a look of terror on his face. The two just stared at each other, until Owlette finally broke the silence.

"That...was...a-amazing!" she said, a bit bewildered. Nite moved his gaze to her, but he looked sad.

"No, it wasn't. Howler was right," he answered, "I do have anger issues. I'm really sorry about that, guys. I guess I wasn't meant to be a hero."

The trio looked at each other. Gekko stepped forward.

"Are you kidding? That was awesome! We could really use powers like those." Nite stared in surprise. They weren't mad at him. They liked his powers!

"R-really?" he stammered, not sure what to say. A whimper made Nite turn around. The Wolfies were all huddled together, staring at him fearfully. Nite smiled and inhaled. The wolves screamed and ran off into the darkness.

"Yes, really," Catboy said as he walked over to Nite and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You just need to learn to control them, so they don't disintegrate the person you're fighting."

For the first time in his life, Nite smiled, a real smile. His new friends grinned back. He'd never felt happier.

"Welcome to the PJ Masks, Night Panther." Gekko said. Nite chuckled and wrapped his arm around his shoulder.

"Call me Nite." he said. Catboy smirked.

"Well then, Nite, you wanna lead us in the victory chant?" he asked. Nite smirked back. Even he knew the infamous chant they always said after every mission.

"PJ Masks, all shout hooray!" he began. The trio joined in. "Cuz in the night, we saved the day!"

* * *

**And that, my friends, is the end of Part 1. I'll be taking a break from this story and beginning another. But don't worry, I'll make sure to come back to it as soon as the other one's finished. But anyway, enjoy yourselves, and see you soon!**

**Part 2 - Endless Lies, is coming after the next story.**


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